Posts Tagged ‘Diary’

Welcome to my personal sleep notebook

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

SleepNotebook.com is just that, my Sleep Notebook.  Here I will share my battle to get a good night sleep each and every night as this blog tracks my progress.  This can also be considered my Sleep Diary and a place where I can look back on nights to see what trends I follow, and how to keep good sleep habits.  You will quickly learn that I am not great at getting a good night of sleep, and am always fighting the urge to stay up late, and sleep in late.

I started my diary at the very beginning of this year as a new year’s resolution, and I stuck with it for a good while without many hiccups.  Lately it has been worse, but I will keep posting good or bad so I have an honest track in this battle to get to bed early, wake up earlier, and get quality sleep.  I was tracking my sleep diary in a plain jane word document and then realized that I should just blog it so I could share my struggle to anyone who may be in the same routine.

Would I say I have some form of insomnia? Definitely!  As long as I can remember I have battled with getting a good night sleep, and I am determined to get some good sleep.  As I blog I will share plenty of tips that have helped me, and mention things that I have learned on the topic of sleep.  Follow along as I go through the paces to break the cycle of staying up late, and as I try to get some good shut eye each and every night.

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1-7-09-Wednesday-Chamomile and Breathing

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Wednesday (Tuesday into Wednesday)
Started Relaxation time:             12:00am
Got in Bed to read by:                  1:00am
Turned out lights to sleep by:    1:30am

Got out of Bed at:                          8:20am
Total Time in Bed:                         6 Hours and 50 Minutes

I read in the bathroom drinking a cup of chamomile with lemon tea from 12:00am till about 1:00am.  I then hopped in bed and read from 1:00am till 1:30am.  While I laid there reading I felt a little itchy, like my back was possibly breaking out in a few hives.  Maybe the tea made me itchy?  Or a lack of food and a drop in blood sugar?  I’ve felt that before when I was really hungry at night I think.

Once in bed I did breathing exercises and relaxation like John Wiedman’s book said.  The breath in for 5 seconds and on exhale think about a body part, like the mouth area, or the eyes.  It really seems to help. I could feel myself close to sleep but I was a little itchy on my back and legs so that kept me up.  I also watched a YouTube meditation video on sleep once I turned out the lights around 1:30am that seemed to help with deep breathing, but it was no way putting me to sleep.

I would say I probably was dozed off and sleeping by 2:10am or so. I recall looking at the clock at 1:49am after laying there practicing the breathing, and a little while after I was asleep.

I closed all heat vents in my room earlier in the day so I didn’t wake up feeling hot, or at least I don’t remember.  I did wake up once but I don’t really remember it much and was back to sleep quickly.  I then was up around 7:15am.  I looked at the clock and realized I had some more time to sleep so I dozed in and out until my alarm at 8:00am.  I laid there for a good 5 or 10 minutes dozing hard.  Mom finally called me around 8:20am and I popped out of bed and was up.

I already feel great this morning, and feel like my confidence and productivity is already improving a lot.  I showered, ate breakfast, and even started a roast in the slow cooker and I am ready to work by 10:00am.  Feels Great! Great Job! Keep it up!

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